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The Lahu nationality has a population of about
412,800, most of whom live in Lancang, Menglian, Zhenyuan, Ximeng
counties of Simao Prefectures, Shuangjiang, gemgma, Gengma,
Cangyuan counties of Lincang Prefecture and Menghai County of
Xishuanbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. The Lahu people are the
descendants of the ancient Qiang people. In the 3th century, they
lived around the Erhai Lahe, and in about the 10th century, they
migrated southwards in several groups to where they stay now .they
were called "Luohei" in the 'Qing Dynasty. "Lahu" is the name
given by themselves. "La" means "tiger", and "Hu" means roasting
meat until it becomes fragrant. The Lahu nationality is heretheto
addressed as "A Tiger-Hunting Nationality".
The Lahu people have their own language that belongs to the
Tibeto-Burman Branch of the Sino-Language Family. The majority of
them believe in primitive religion and Mahayana Buddhism; some
believe in Christianity. Their marital custom is called "cong qiju"
which means that after getting married, the bridegroom should
first live with the bride's family for three years before setting
up his own house. The men generally wear black
turbans ,short collarless coats ,and loose trousers. They ware
swords wherever they go. the costumes of the women are of the
typical plateau style. They wear overcoats with vents stretching
to the waist, The overcoats are usually decorated with colorful
laces and silver bulbs on the collars and vents. They wear long
trousers. The major festival of the Lahu people is
the Kuota Festival, which is their New Year festival. Besides,
they also celebrate the torch Festival, the Nianli Festival and
the dragon Boat festival. During a festival, they sing and dance
until late at night. |
